Bottle skirts

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a cover for various items, and more specifically, to beaded covers for items such as bottles or candlesticks. The accessory consists of a waist to which is attached a skirt. The waist is hung on the item to be covered. The skirt consists of a plurality of strands which are attached to the waist portion of the accessory at the top and hang loosely at the bottom. In a preferred embodiment the strands are comprised of decorative beading and used to cover wine bottles for the dual purposes of insulation and aesthetics.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from U.S. application Ser. No. 11/292,573, filed Dec. 2, 2005, which claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/632,262, filed Dec. 2, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a cover for various items, and more specifically, to beaded covers for items such as bottles or candlesticks.

2. Description of Related Art

In the modern world there are a number of items that are useful to have on your dinner table or in other entertainment areas, but which lack certain aesthetically pleasing qualities. For example, a dinner table might have a water bottle, a catsup bottle, a wine bottle and candlesticks. These items, while necessary to the dinner or other activity, are frequently mismatched and displeasing to the eye. In the past this problem has been addressed by ignoring the aesthetic inadequacies of the items, or by removing the items from the table when they're not in use. Removing items from the table can be inconvenient, and ignoring the aesthetic inadequacies is frequently an unsatisfactory (and sometimes impossible) solution to the problem. Additionally, it is frequently desirable to maintain the temperature of the contents of bottles when they are on the table. Certain wines, for instance, is best served chilled and should not be allowed to get too warm. However, when such a bottle of wine is left on the table and handled by warm hands, there is a tendency for the wine to get warm. There exists a need, therefore, for a way to leave said items on the table or other entertaining space without impairing the aesthetics of the table or entertaining space and additionally providing the ability to thermally insulate the bottles from the outside air or a warm hand.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an accessory used as a cover for both bottles and non-bottles to lessen their commercial appearance and, in the case of bottles containing substances where temperature is important, to serve as insulation. The accessory includes a skirt, which is attached to a waist or neck. The waist or neck is slipped around to the item to be covered or insulated. The skirt is comprised of a plurality of strands which, at the top, are attached to the waist or neck of the accessory and, at the bottom, hang loosely. In a preferred embodiment, the waist is comprised of yarn, or similar material, which rests around the neck of the bottle and to which is attached a skirt comprised of a plurality of beaded strands. An advantage of the present invention is that a user may either grasp a bottle on the outside of the skirt or grasp the bottle underneath the skirt. This allows the user to hold the bottle under the skirt so as to avoid contact with the beads (or other bead-like material) or to hold the skirt to avoid direct contact with the bottle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a bottle skirt in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, an accessory is disclosed which is used to cover various items such as a bottle, the accessory includes a waist or a neck and a skirt. FIG. 1 illustrates the accessory 6 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention which is a cover for a bottle 5 such as, for example, a wine bottle. While the invention is illustrated as a wine bottle cover, it should be noted that the invention could be used in conjunction with any number of different kinds of bottles, such as catsup, water or champagne, and also used with non-bottle items such as candlesticks, Christmas balls, and ponytails.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the accessory 6 is connected to the bottle 5 by the waist or neck portion 1. Attached to the waist portion 1 is the skirt portion 2. The skirt portion 2 is comprised of individual strands 4, which hang loosely from the neck 1 and, preferably, are not attached at the bottom 7 of the bottle. The strands 4 may be made out of any suitable material such as yarn or thread. In an alternative embodiment, the strands 4 are constructed from a material susceptible to beading and beads 3. The beads 3 can be of any suitable material such as glass, wood, plastic or metal.

An advantage of the present invention is that the loosely hanging strands 4 give the user the flexibility to either grip the bottle by the skirt, thereby insulating the user's hand from the cold or hot bottle, or grip the bottle directly thereby giving the user a better grip on the bottle. The accessory of present invention also serves to remove or lessen the commercial appearance of a bottle or other object so that it is more suitable for presentation at, for example, a dinner table or other place of entertainment.

In another embodiment of the invention, the accessory may be used in conjunction with a ponytail. 

1. An accessory for covering an object, said accessory comprising: a plurality of strands having a neck region and a skirt region, wherein said plurality of strands in said neck region are connected together so as to form an opening through which an object may be inserted, and wherein said plurality of strands in said skirt region are configured to hang loosely from said neck region and to cover said object.
 2. The accessory of claim 1, wherein said strands are comprised of material susceptible to beading.
 3. The accessory of claim 2, further comprising beads attached to said plurality of strands.
 4. The accessory of claim 3, wherein the beaded strands are configured to thermally insulate the object from a user's hand.
 5. The accessory of claim 3, wherein said beads are made of wood, plastic or metal.
 6. The accessory of claim 1, wherein said object is a bottle.
 7. The accessory of claim 1, wherein said object is a candlestick.
 8. The accessory of claim 1, wherein said object is a ponytail.
 9. The accessory of claim 6, wherein said bottle is a wine bottle.
 10. The accessory of claim 6, wherein said plurality of said strands in said skirt region of said accessory are not connected to one another.
 11. The accessory of claim 3, wherein said beads are decorative beads configured to enhance the appearance of said object. 